Busy week
This week has been a very busy week for me at work and at home. Work is work, nothing new there, but it's been stressful lately because I'm responsible for things that are out of my control, and that always gets me wound up.
At home every night I've been working in the basement and I've made decent progress. I got all but 10 (of the original 240) DRIcore panels installed. The main area of the basement is covered, as is the bit under the stairs and alongside the stairs. I stopped before wrapping around the stairs with the panels, mainly because that looks like it will require some intricate cuts and I'm not sure where the bathroom will end, and I don't want to put the panels in the bathroom. It will sit like this until I figure out what I'm doing regarding the shower in the basement (doing a plain shower, or something more interesting, like a steam shower).
Having all the panels in the basement seems to have raised the temperature by about 2 degrees, not the 6 that were promised (that I never really believed anyway). I imagine that adding more ducts to the basement will help to keep it warmer (there are only two for 900+ square feet), but it's going to require a large quantity of return ducting. Adding that amount of return ducting will be a hassle that I'm not looking forward to. I might be better served by calling a pro to calculate heating requiements, check my furnace, and do whatever ducting is required.
On Thursday and Saturday I put in the last of the lights in the basement. Two lights in the hall beside the stairs, wired with three way switches, so that you can walk through the basement without walking in the dark, or having to backtrack to turn off lights. Yea! I also put in four lights in the back section of the basement where the wet bar (and maybe a pinball table and dart board) will go. It's now very well down there, and that's a "good thing."
The remaining things to be done are to box up the main ducting with soffits, put in a few outlets and boxes for wall sconces and rope lights (to be put behind crown molding to provide "mood" lighting), a few more ducts (and the associated return air ducts), the external vent for the bathroom (I put in the ducting for it on Thursday, but haven't cut the side of the house for the vent), and then drywall.
After the drywall I'll be down to just the finish materials, flooring, cabinets, painting. The exciting bits. But, first I have to finish the drywall, and that's got me worried. I'm seriously considering hiring out the drywall. It's heavy, dusty, and a lot of work (even though it's not complicated work, it is hard work). There's just so much to do that I'm not sure I want to spend the time doing it. Well, I've got plenty more work to do before I get to that point, so maybe when that time comes around I'll feel more up to the task.
At home every night I've been working in the basement and I've made decent progress. I got all but 10 (of the original 240) DRIcore panels installed. The main area of the basement is covered, as is the bit under the stairs and alongside the stairs. I stopped before wrapping around the stairs with the panels, mainly because that looks like it will require some intricate cuts and I'm not sure where the bathroom will end, and I don't want to put the panels in the bathroom. It will sit like this until I figure out what I'm doing regarding the shower in the basement (doing a plain shower, or something more interesting, like a steam shower).
Having all the panels in the basement seems to have raised the temperature by about 2 degrees, not the 6 that were promised (that I never really believed anyway). I imagine that adding more ducts to the basement will help to keep it warmer (there are only two for 900+ square feet), but it's going to require a large quantity of return ducting. Adding that amount of return ducting will be a hassle that I'm not looking forward to. I might be better served by calling a pro to calculate heating requiements, check my furnace, and do whatever ducting is required.
On Thursday and Saturday I put in the last of the lights in the basement. Two lights in the hall beside the stairs, wired with three way switches, so that you can walk through the basement without walking in the dark, or having to backtrack to turn off lights. Yea! I also put in four lights in the back section of the basement where the wet bar (and maybe a pinball table and dart board) will go. It's now very well down there, and that's a "good thing."
The remaining things to be done are to box up the main ducting with soffits, put in a few outlets and boxes for wall sconces and rope lights (to be put behind crown molding to provide "mood" lighting), a few more ducts (and the associated return air ducts), the external vent for the bathroom (I put in the ducting for it on Thursday, but haven't cut the side of the house for the vent), and then drywall.
After the drywall I'll be down to just the finish materials, flooring, cabinets, painting. The exciting bits. But, first I have to finish the drywall, and that's got me worried. I'm seriously considering hiring out the drywall. It's heavy, dusty, and a lot of work (even though it's not complicated work, it is hard work). There's just so much to do that I'm not sure I want to spend the time doing it. Well, I've got plenty more work to do before I get to that point, so maybe when that time comes around I'll feel more up to the task.
posted by Mark at 11:00 AM
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